


I Barely Knew You

by shyseoul



Category: Super Junior
Genre: Abuse, Angst, EunHae, I'm Sorry, M/M, Still learning how to tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:34:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,561
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25040200
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shyseoul/pseuds/shyseoul
Summary: Donghae keeps to himself at school. Eunhyuk begins to notice him and starts a friendship. Soon they become inseparable. But Donghae has a secret, one that he is unwilling to share with Eunhyuk.
Relationships: Lee Donghae/Lee Hyukjae | Eunhyuk
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Part One

**Author's Note:**

> I used to write fanfics a long time ago and decided to move them over to this site since I no longer use the other site. I kinda want to start writing again.
> 
> ****

The sun was just peeking through his curtains, as his alarm clock went off. He quickly hit the snooze button and rolled over. With a sigh, he dragged himself out of bed, grabbed the wrinkled clothes that were lying on the floor, and tiptoed to the bathroom.

He washed his face before grabbing the old bottle of concealer he had hidden in the bottom drawer. After examining himself carefully, he grabbed his backpack and had just reached the front door when he heard a cough come from the living room.

“Where do you think you’re going, boy?” A short man with graying hair and a round belly leaned against the doorway, a half-drank beer in his left hand and the remote in his right. His hair was disheveled from passing out in the living room the previous night.

“What did I tell you about leaving this house before making me my breakfast?”

“I made you something last night, all you have to do is heat it up when you’re ready,” the boy replied.

“I don’t want no damn leftovers, boy. I expect you to make me my breakfast the same morning I plan on eating it,” the man exclaimed.

“I really need to leave for school, Father,” the boy stated as he started opening the front door. “I’ll make sure you have a fresh breakfast tomorrow.”

The man threw the remote to the ground and slammed the door shut.

“How dare you talk back to your father! Go to the kitchen and make me my god-damn breakfast! And what did I say yesterday about cleaning up this house? You know I’m having guests over later. You’re not leaving this house until it is spotless. You got me?”

“I cleaned yesterday! It wouldn’t be so messy if you just picked up all your beer bottles,” the boy muttered quietly to himself as he started heading towards the kitchen.

“What the hell did you just say?” The man roughly grabbed the boy’s arm and twirled him around, his face inches away from the boy’s.

His breath reeked of stale beer and cigarettes.

The boy closed his eyes, anticipating his father’s next move. Sure enough, a second later the man’s fist connected with the boy’s left cheekbone. The boy winced slightly and tried to escape his father’s grip. The man held on tighter.

“Did I say you could leave yet? Open your eyes, you coward,” the man’s words slurred as he took a drink from the bottle of alcohol he was still holding. “The next time you talk back to me, you won’t be able to move for a week. Now go make me my breakfast!”

He pushed the boy towards the kitchen and took a last swig of alcohol. “And clean up this damn mess!” he added, throwing the bottle at the boy’s retreating back.

The boy flinched as the glass shattered against his back.

.oOo.

Eunhyuk had been dozing off when he noticed the quiet boy sneak into the classroom. Eunhyuk had always been intrigued by him. The boy was definitely good-looking; he was a bit short with wavy, brown hair and tanned skin. But there was something about his eyes that really stood out. They were a chocolate brown and always seemed so sad.

The boy glanced at the teacher, who was facing the blackboard and sighed in relief as he quietly made his way to his desk, in the back of the room. Class was already halfway over, and Eunhyuk couldn’t help but watch him as the boy pulled out his notebook and started frantically scribbling away at the notes that were on the board.

Eunhyuk had never seen the boy hanging out with friends, or talking to anybody in general. Sure, if the boy was called on, he would answer, and if there was a group project, he would participate, but he was never social; always keeping to himself. Eunhyuk felt compelled to learn more about him. Eunhyuk caught the boy’s gaze, and gave him a gummy smile before the boy quickly glanced away.

“Lee Donghae,” the teacher had turned around and noticed the late addition to the class, “so glad you could join us. Please see me after class.”

The boy, Donghae, gave a quick nod, blushing as his classmates all glanced at him.

When the bell rang, everyone packed up their belongings and headed out the door. Eunhyuk took his time, trying to catch some of the conversation that was happening at the teacher’s desk.

“Eunhyuk! What’s taking so long?” His best friend, Siwon, yelled from the front of the room.

The teacher and Donghae both turned to look at Eunhyuk, who then scurried past them. Siwon was standing outside the door with his arms crossed.

“C’mon, we’re going to be late,” Siwon swung his arm around Eunhyuk’s shoulder and started heading towards their next class. Eunhyuk wiggled out of Siwon’s grip.

“Uh, I just realized that I have to talk to the teacher. I’ll meet you there,” Eunhyuk said.

As Eunhyuk leaned against the wall next to the door, pondering what he would say to Donghae, he could hear snippets of what was being said in the classroom.

“…third time this week….other teachers have noticed….grades slipping….”

Eunhyuk didn’t realize that he had been unconsciously leaning closer and closer to the door until it suddenly burst open and hit him square in the nose. He yelped as the brunette scurried past him, his head downcast. Before Eunhyuk could react, Donghae had disappeared around the corner and the late bell began to ring.

Eunhyuk started to head towards his classroom, but curiosity got the best of him and he started to run in the opposite direction to catch up with Donghae. He had just rounded the corner when he saw the boys bathroom door at the end of the hall closing. Praying that he was following the right person, he sprinted down the hall and came to a screeching halt outside of the door. He stooped in order to catch his breath, before straightening and attempting to fix his hair.

He had just reached for the knob when the door sprung open, hitting him in the nose, again. He grabbed his nose as blood started to trickle down, and looked up. Staring at him with wide eyes was none other than Donghae.

“I’m so sorry!”

“You have got to stop doing that!”

“I’m sorry, I really am. Here, let me help you clean it up,” Donghae said as he led Eunhyuk into the bathroom. Donghae grabbed a bunch of paper towels and began wetting them.

“I’m Donghae, by the way. What’s your name?” He turned the faucet off and approached Eunhyuk who had sat on top of the sink.

“Eunhyuk. We have Algebra together,” Eunhyuk stated, as Donghae began to dab his nose. He flinched as it made contact.

“Oh. Cool. Um, I think you should go to the nurse’s office. It might be broken or something so you should probably get it checked out. I am really sorry; I didn’t realize you were there. Please don’t report me. It was an accident. I promise I’ll stay as far away from you as I can from now on. Just please don’t have them call my father.” It was quite pitiful as Donghae stood there pleading to him with his puppy-dog eyes and Eunhyuk couldn’t help but wonder why he was so adamant about his father not finding out.

“Hey, hey. Slow down. I’m not going to report you. That would just be silly. I know it was an accident,” Eunhyuk replied, as Donghae let out a visible sigh of relief, “however, I do have a favor to ask of you.”

Donghae’s eyes went wide and Eunhyuk could have sworn that they had flickered with fear for a second. But before he could puzzle over that, Donghae gave him a toothy grin.

“Anything.”

.oOo.

He could already hear the rowdy teenagers inside of the cafeteria as he approached the door. Eunhyuk’s proposal was fair, he supposed, but that didn’t stop the butterflies from fluttering in his stomach. Taking a large gulp, Donghae entered the cafeteria and was immediately overwhelmed by how loud and crowded it was. Normally, he ate lunch outside under a large oak tree that was tucked behind the abandoned school building. He felt safe there, as hardly anyone ever ventured over to the old building, and he was beginning to wish that he hadn’t agreed to Eunhyuk’s proposition. He had just started backing towards the door, when he felt an arm sling around his shoulder.

“I honestly didn’t think you were going to show up,” the voice behind Donghae stated.

As Donghae’s heart rate started to return to its normal pace, he turned around and faced Eunhyuk with a forced smile.

“A promise is a promise. I’m a man of my word,” Donghae replied, wishing more than anything that this statement weren’t true as Eunhyuk started dragging him towards his lunch table.


	2. Part Two

Lunch hadn’t been nearly as bad as he had imagined it to be. All of Eunhyuk’s friends had been very welcoming. There was a tall one, Siwon, who kept preaching to him about the Lord (“Not now!” Eunhyuk whispered to the bushy-eyebrowed boy), a short one who was wearing a pink shirt (“On Wednesdays we wear pink,” he stated, as Eunhyuk rolled his eyes), and a boy with bushy brown hair, who just gave a curt nod without looking at him as he was playing a very important video game under the table (“You can’t even give him a proper greeting?” Eunhyuk asked exasperatedly).

“My friends,” Eunhyuk stated as he and Donghae walked to their next class, “I swear they aren’t as bad as they seem.”

“I didn’t think they were that bad,” Donghae said with a smile as Eunhyuk’s face lit up.

“So you wouldn’t mind eating lunch with us again tomorrow?” Eunhyuk stopped in front of his classroom door.

“Sure,” Donghae replied and started to walk down the hall towards his own class. Eunhyuk stepped into his classroom with a ginormous goofy smile planted on his face but as the door slammed shut, his face fell.

“Sure, he’d love to have lunch with us again or sure, he would mind having lunch with us again?” Eunhyuk plopped into his seat with a sigh and pondered Donghae’s response for the rest of the period.

.oOo.

Donghae couldn’t keep from smiling as he walked home. He had made a friend; an actual friend. His first in a very, very long time. Nothing could get his spirits down. He had just stepped onto his street when his phone vibrated. He smiled when he saw who was texting him.

_“` So was that a “Sure, I’d love to eat lunch with you guys again” or a “Sure, I mind eating lunch with you again, you lunatic”?`”_

_“` What do you think it meant?`”_ He sent the text as he laughed at the dorky boy.

_“` That’s the problem; I’ve been trying to figure it out all day. But it could seriously go both ways.`”_

Before Donghae could respond, his phone started to vibrate again.

_“` Aish, you probably do mind.`”_

Donghae chuckled, as his phone vibrated for a fourth time.

_“` And you probably mind me texting you right now.`”_

_“` And you probably minded me sending that last text…..And this text…I’ll leave you alone now.`”_

Donghae waited a minute but when he realized the boy was being serious, he hastily sent a message.

_“` Of course, I don’t mind eating with you guys! Seriously, and you can text me whenever you want. I swear!`”_

Donghae didn’t have to wait that long for a response. _“` Well that’s a relief :)`”_

Donghae had been so immersed in his conversation, that he didn’t even realize that he had missed his house. Donghae turned around and raced to his house. He checked the time and realized that he was already five minutes late and just hoped that his father wouldn’t realize it.

Unfortunately his father was waiting right inside the door as Donghae came bursting in.

“I’m so sorry I’m late father. I had to speak to a teacher after school.” His father did not look convinced.

“Didn’t I tell you I was going to have guests over later today, boy? It’s now 4:30. They’ll be here in half an hour. And just look at this house!” The man grabbed Donghae by the collar and pulled him close to his face. Donghae had to stand on his tiptoes to keep from losing his balance.

“When I say the house needs to be cleaned, then I expect you to leave that school of yours early so that you can clean it,” the man said through gritted teeth. “It’s not like you will amount to anything. There’s no reason for you to go to school in the first place. Now clean the damn house!”

The man shoved Donghae towards the kitchen. Donghae hit his hip on the edge of the table and bit his lip in order not to cry out. His father headed for his room.

“When I come out, this house had better be spotless!”

Donghae took out the cleaning supplies and began to scrubs the counters. Half an hour later, his father came out of his room and slammed the door shut. He stormed into the living room, where Donghae was vacuuming and looked around. He then stormed over to Donghae and punched him in the face.

“Why the hell aren’t you done yet, boy? And where the hell is my beer?” Donghae had grabbed his nose, which had started bleeding and turned to face his father.

“I-I was just finishing up. And your beer is still in the fridge. So that it could stay cold until your guests came,” Donghae stated. The man huffed and sat down in his armchair, as Donghae coiled up the cord to the vacuum. Just as Donghae was putting the vacuum in the closet, the doorbell rang. He hurriedly closed the door and ran to the kitchen before his father could yell at him for the beer still being in there. His father, however, was faster than him and slammed Donghae into the wall.

“You useless piece of shit! My guests are here and where the hell is my beer?” The man snarled.

“I was just grabbing it—I swear!” Donghae stammered.

“NO MORE EXCUSES!” The man grabbed a pot that was still sitting out on the counter and hit Donghae over the side of his head, knocking him unconscious. Donghae crumbled to the ground, as the doorbell began to ring again.

“Coming!” The man shouted as he dragged Donghae to his room, throwing him on the bed, and locking the door.

.oOo.

Donghae whimpered as he woke up. His head was pounding and his side ached. He could hear lewd noises coming from across the hall and his phone kept vibrating in his pocket. He sat up dizzily, and looked at his phone. It was around midnight. He had 2 missed text messages, both from Eunhyuk.

He stood up and he had to grab something in order not to fall. He tried to open his door, but his father had apparently locked it from the outside. He walked towards his window and opened it, thankful that his house was only one story. When he escaped his house he called Eunhyuk, praying that the boy would answer the phone. After about a minute of it ringing, Eunhyuk answered groggily.

“Hey, it’s Donghae. IsitokayifIcomeover?” Donghae closed his eyes in anticipation.

“Donghae? What did you say? Do you know how late it is?”

Donghae cleared his throat. “I-is it okay i-if I come over?”

“Of course, is something wrong?”

“N-no, I just couldn’t sleep.”

“Um, okay. Sure. Do you want my address?”

“Can you text it to me?” Donghae began heading towards the closest 24-hour convenience store.

“Sure.” Donghae hung up and a moment later, his phone vibrated. He stepped into the store and headed for the bathroom. After cleaning himself up, he took out his concealer to hide his fresh wounds. As he stepped out of the bathroom, he grabbed the cheapest thing he could find and headed towards the counter.

The man behind the counter looked tired, but put on a dimpled smile when he saw the customer approaching.

“Hi, I’d like to buy this,” Donghae said as he placed the item and money on the counter. The man rang it up and as he was handing back the change, Donghae cleared his throat.

“Could you tell me how to get to this street?” Donghae showed the man the piece of paper, who thought for a moment before giving him specific instructions.

“Thank you,” Donghae looked at the man’s nametag, “Leeteuk. I really appreciate it.” The man smiled and wished Donghae a good night.

.oOo.

By the time Donghae reached Eunhyuk’s house, it was 1 AM.

“I thought you weren’t going to show up,” Eunhyuk said sleepily. He had been sitting on his porch since he had sent Donghae his address.

“I’m sorry I took so long.”

“No problem. C’mon, it’s cold outside.” Eunhyuk opened the door for Donghae. Eunhyuk led Donghae inside the house and straight to his room.

“Is it okay if we share the bed? The floor is kinda cluttered right now.” Donghae nodded.

“Did you bring anything to sleep in?” Donghae shook his head. Eunhyuk went over to his drawer and took out sweatpants and a t-shirt.

“Here you go. The bathroom’s across the hall.” Donghae gratefully took the pajamas and quickly changed. By the time he walked back into Eunhyuk’s room, the boy was already asleep. Donghae climbed into the bed and snuggled close to the sleeping boy. He was still slightly shaking from the earlier events but a few minutes later, he also fell asleep.

.oOo.

Eunhyuk woke up in the morning to find an empty bed.

“Hae?” Eunhyuk looked around his room and found his pajamas neatly folded up on his dresser with a note attached to them.

_“Thanks! I’ll see you at school –Donghae”_

Eunhyuk didn’t think anything of it and soon that became a routine for the boys. At least three times a week, Donghae would show up at Eunhyuk’s house claiming he couldn’t sleep (Donghae had stopped sending him texts beforehand, as Eunhyuk had made him a spare key after a few months of him showing up late at night). Eunhyuk just figured that Donghae had insomnia, which is why he would always show up.

Some nights Eunhyuk would notice that Donghae was shaking or would flinch if something touched him and every morning Eunhyuk would wake up to an empty bed. But every day Donghae would be at school with a smile on his face and Eunhyuk would soon forget Donghae’s strange behavior.

.oOo.

It had been several months since Donghae had first started staying the night at Eunhyuk’s house. The two were practically inseparable to the point where Kyuhyun would tell them to “get a room” and Sungmin would tell them that he “shipped them”. But the two just rolled their eyes and stated yet again that they were “just friends”.

That night Donghae had actually shown up much earlier than he usually did and his eyes were red rimmed.

“What’s wrong?” Eunhyuk inquired when they had settled into his room.

“Nothing, can we watch a movie or something? I’m not tired yet.” Donghae sat on Eunhyuk’s bed and Eunhyuk could swear that he saw tears forming in the boy’s eyes.

“Sure, what do you want to watch?” Eunhyuk went over to his movie collection.

“Do-do you have _Finding Nemo_? That’s my favorite,” the boy looked up at Eunhyuk with hopeful eyes.

“Of course! I love that movie too!” Eunhyuk grabbed the movie, put it into the player, and sat down next to Donghae. He could swear the boy was trembling, and so he wrapped an arm around him.

“Hae, is anything wrong?”

“No, I’m fine,” Donghae said, “I swear.”

The movie began to play and Donghae rested his head on Eunhyuk’s shoulder. Just before he drifted off to sleep, he whispered, “Thank you. For everything.”

.oOo.

The sun was just rising as Donghae dashed down his driveway. He hadn’t meant to oversleep at Eunhyuk’s house, and he prayed that he would get home in time to make his father breakfast before he woke up, or realized that Donghae had been gone the whole night. Donghae crouched for a moment to catch his breath, took out the keys to his house, and as quietly as possible, unlocked the door.

He silently cursed at the darn door for creaking as he opened it and then stepped inside. Listening for a moment, he sighed when he realized that his dad had actually passed out in his own room for a change. He went to the kitchen, dropped his bag on the table, and turned on the stove.

He had just turned around to grab some ingredients out of the fridge when he realized his father had been standing directly behind him. It was clear to Donghae that his father was intoxicated.

“Ah, Father. I was just making you some breakfast. Here, come sit at the table while I finish it up,” Donghae gave the man a smile to hopefully appease him and tried to direct him towards the table. His father took a menacing step towards Donghae.

“Where. The. Hell. Have. You. Been?” His father grabbed a hold of Donghae’s shirt. Donghae tried to back up but his father was surprisingly strong.

“What are you talking about? I’ve been here the whole time,” Donghae held his father’s gaze in the hopes that he would believe his little lie. However, luck was not on his side. His father pulled Donghae closer to his face.

“Do not lie to me, you ungrateful bastard!” he spat, “I saw you sneaking out last night. Do you think I’m an idiot?”

“N-no,” Donghae started to panic, “I-I had to go see a friend. H-he w-was having trouble with s-some homework and a-asked if I could stop by. I-I must have fallen a-asleep while I was there. I swear it won’t happen again.”

“You’re damn right it won’t happen again!” Donghae’s father shoved him against the stove. Donghae reached out behind him so the impact wouldn’t be as hard and cried out as his right hand landed on the burner he had turned on just moments ago.

His father, noticing Donghae’s outburst, grabbed his hand.

“Is this the first time you’ve snuck out, boy?” Tears welled up in Donghae’s eyes, as he tried to escape his father’s grip. “IS IT?”

A barely audible “yes” escaped Donghae’s mouth as he looked down. His father turned Donghae around so that he was facing the oven. With his free hand, he turned on the right stove burner. He grabbed Donghae’s other hand and bought his mouth to Donghae’s ear.

“Do you know what I hate more than ungrateful bastards?” Donghae was paralyzed with fear. When his father realized that he wasn’t going to respond, he continued, “Lying, ungrateful bastards.” With that statement, he pressed both of Donghae’s hands onto the burners. Donghae whimpered and tried to break free from his father.

“Now, I will ask you again; is this the first time you’ve snuck out?” His father removed Donghae’s hands from the burners and forcefully turned him around so that Donghae could face him. Tears were streaming down Donghae’s face as he whimpered, “Father, please.”

“Answer the question.”

“Father!”

“NOW!”

Donghae feebly struggled against his father.

“N-no,” he whispered, “it’s not the f-first time.” He whimpered as the man tightened his grip. “But I swear it won’t happen again. I swear! Please, Father. I promise. Please. I’ll do whatever you want. Just please, please, let me go!”

His father shoved him against the wall, knocking the breath out of him. He grabbed onto Donghae’s collar and demanded, “Where do you go? Huh? WHERE?”

“T-to a friend’s.”

“What friend? You don’t have any friends! Who would want to be friends with a shit like you?” Anger welled up inside of Donghae and he shoved his father, who then lost his balance and slammed into the table. Donghae ran towards the front door and grimaced as he used his hand to turn the handle. He had just gotten it to turn when his father grabbed his hair and pulled him backwards. Blood was trickling down the side of his face and his eyes were burning with rage.

Donghae’s neck began to ache as his father continued to hold his head back by his hair. Tears were streaming down his face; he knew he had gone too far. He should never have pushed his father.

“P-please, Father,” he whimpered, “I’m sorry. Please, I-I won’t do it again. I promise.” His father shoved him into the living room. Donghae lost his balance and fell face first into the glass coffee table, knocking over the lamp in the process. Small pieces of glass embedded into Donghae’s skin. Before he could get up, his father bent down and shoved him closer to the ground.

“Now look what you’ve done, you piece of shit! You’re going to pay for that.” The man forcefully spun Donghae around so that he could face him and grabbed a rather large shard of glass. Donghae began to tremble as his father began to drag the glass alongside Donghae’s cheekbone.

“You’ve been nothing but trouble and I‘ve had it!” He jabbed the pointed edge of the glass into Donghae’s chest. Donghae’s eyes went wide with pain and he cried out. He threw his arms up in order to protect himself, but his father was too quick for him. He stabbed Donghae once more, this time a little deeper.

“Father, please,” Donghae pleaded, as blood flowed out of his chest and the pain increased. His father brought up the glass shard in an attempt to stab Donghae again, but Donghae managed to grab it, the sharp edge digging into his already injured hand. “Please. Stop.” Donghae weakly cried, as he slashed at his father’s arm. But it was no use, his strength was weakening from the stab wounds and his father was only getting angrier and angrier.

The man trapped Donghae’s arms underneath his legs and grabbed the fallen lamp, yanking the cord out of the wall.

“I. Have. Had. Enough. Of. Your. Bullshit. You. Selfish. Bastard.” The man snarled as he wrapped the cord around his son’s neck. “You’re no son of mine, “ the man pulled hard on either side of the cord. Donghae weakly tried to squirm out from under his father, but it was no use. He started to choke and tears trickled down his face as the world got dimmer. The last thing he saw was his father’s satisfied smirk.

.oOo.

Siwon couldn’t help but notice his friend continually glancing at his phone with a worried expression. He patted Eunhyuk on the back.

“What, your girlfriend forget to call you or something?” Siwon questioned teasingly. Eunhyuk made a face at him and set his phone on the table.

“No,” Eunhyuk scoffed. He glanced at his phone again. Siwon raised an eyebrow.

“Something’s obviously bothering you, so just tell me. What’s up?”

Eunhyuk sighed, “It’s probably nothing.”

“If it was nothing, you wouldn’t look like your cat just died,” Siwon stated pointedly.

“It’s just…Donghae’s not here.” Eunhyuk looked up dejectedly.

Siwon chuckled. “That’s what you’re worried about? You know some kids actually skip school. Some kids aren’t a goody-two-shoes like you.” When Eunhyuk didn’t even crack a smile at his joke, he continued, “Look, if you’re that worried about Donghae, then go check on him.”

“But that’s the thing. I don’t even know where he lives. We’ve known him for how long now, and I feel like I barely know him. He never talks about his family and when we hang out he always comes over to my house. I’m supposed to be his best friend and I can’t even go check on him or bring him his homework when he misses school because I don’t even know where he lives.” Eunhyuk placed his head on the table in defeat.

“You know there are ways to find it,” Siwon said mischievously as he wiggled his eyebrows. “Meet me outside the office after school.”

.oOo.

When the final bell rang, Eunhyuk raced towards the office. He could hear Siwon’s voice charming the assistant as he stood outside the door. A few minutes later, Siwon stepped out of the office and handed Eunhyuk a piece of paper, with a satisfied look on his face.

“You have got to teach me how to do that someday,” Eunhyuk stated, as he grabbed the piece of paper.

“It’s all about confidence,” Siwon replied. “Well I’ll catch you later, ‘kay?”

“Okay! And thanks again!” Eunhyuk raced down the hall and towards the parking lot.

.oOo.

Eunhyuk grew apprehensive when he noticed that the front door was slightly ajar. Knocking gently, Eunhyuk slowly opened the door further and stepped inside.

“Donghae,” Eunhyuk called out, “Donghae? I brought you your schoolwork. You should have told me you were going to skip school today.” Soft snores could be heard from the room to his left. “Or sent me a text so that I didn’t worry.” The snores increased in volume as Eunhyuk walked further in the room. A middle-aged man was passed out in a large, beaten recliner, an empty bottle hanging loosely in his hand. Broken glass was scattered on the floor and a lamp was knocked over, the cord ripped from the wall.

A feeling of dread encompassed Eunhyuk as he quietly tiptoed out of the room and turned to walk down the dim hallway.

“H-hae?” Eunhyuk opened the door to the right of him. When he first walked in, he didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. The room was small and void of any decorations or personal effects, aside from a few clothes lying on the ground and a picture of Donghae and Eunhyuk that was lying on the dresser next to the door.

Eunhyuk turned around to examine the rest of Donghae’s room, when he noticed something lying on the floor on the other side of the bed. His heart began to race as he approached the far side of the bed.

“N-no!! Hae? Hae!” Eunhyuk rushed over and bent down to where Donghae laid; his eyes closed; dried tears streaking his face. There was blood on the front of his torn shirt, a large gash on his cheek, and his neck had red marks around it. Eunhyuk checked for a pulse, but couldn’t find one. Eunhyuk cradled Donghae, as tears streamed down his face.

“Donghae, please. Please. Wake up. Wake up!” Eunhyuk rocked the lifeless body of his best friend as he continued to sob. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t here to protect you. Please just wake up!”

Eunhyuk grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket. His hands were shaking so bad that it took several attempts to dial 911. After he hung up the phone, he hugged his friend even more, refusing to let go.

“Why didn’t you tell me? I could have protected you! I could have saved you! We were supposed to be best friends! You don’t keep this from your best friend. Please, wake up. You can’t leave me. I promise I’ll protect you. I-I love you, Hae. I need you.” Eunhyuk continued to sob and cradle his best friend.

A few minutes later the paramedics burst into the house.

“Help! Please, help me!” Eunhyuk called from Donghae’s room. The paramedics came into the room and pried Donghae from Eunhyuk.

“Please save him. You have to save him!” Eunhyuk sobbed.

.oOo.

Eunhyuk stood in front of Donghae’s grave. The funeral had been small, but beautiful. Sungmin and Kyuhyun paid their respects, squeezed Eunhyuk’s shoulder and headed to their car. Siwon stayed behind to look after Eunhyuk, who seemed to be lost in his own world.

“It shouldn’t have been him,” Eunhyuk stated after a few moments of silence. “He didn’t deserve that. Why would anyone do that to their own child? Why didn’t he tell me? I could have helped him. Why didn’t he trust me?” Eunhyuk started to sob. Siwon pulled him into a tight embrace.

“I know that nothing I say will make you feel better. But at least he’s in no more pain. At least he had a friend like you.” Siwon began to tear up. “I’m sure you made him happier. Remember, he used to have no friends. You changed that. I’m sure he trusted you and cared about you. But sometimes, you’re so used to keeping a secret that you end up not knowing how to tell someone.” Siwon continued to hug his distraught friend.

“You can go; I j-just want t-o stay here a little longer. I-I don’t want him to th-think I abandoned him.” Eunhyuk knelt down next to Donghae’s grave. Siwon wiped the tears from his eyes.

“Just call me when you’re ready to go, okay? If you need anything, just let me know,” Siwon said. When he realized that Eunhyuk wasn’t going to respond to him, he started to leave.

“I just need Donghae to be here; safe and sound,” Eunhyuk whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.


End file.
